Author's notes:
Hey, I want to share the 2nd chapter of the story.
I hope you'll like it :)
The story will most likely contain 3 - 4 chapter, so I should be able to finish it relatively soon. Still, I expect to make some breaks after writing each chapter :)
Oh, and one more info, I'll use the traditional USA Christmas dinner/supper for that text (even though I'm Polish).
As always, thanks for everything, and see you next time :D
PS. I'm sorry, the writing process took me more than I initially anticipated.
Changelog:
2021-01-31: A preview was posted.
2021-02-06: A whole chapter posted.
End of author's notes:
The kitchen was located at the very top level of the manor. After a moment of thoughts, Illidan reminded himself that it was Tyrande's idea. Even though the high priestess of Elune cooked quite rarely, she wanted to have a beautiful sight before her eyes while doing so, from time to time. The Illidari's master did not like his wife's idea, at least initially. However, one glance over the drawn preview of the area was more than enough to convince him. If Illidan was to place the room, he would most likely locate it deep below the manor. Possibly it would be built next to the blacksmith and enchanting room. Still, at the very end, he agreed to follow Tyrande's plan, and frankly, he did not regret doing so.
The kitchen had 2 out of 4 of its walls made out of transparent glass. The room's placement could not be more fitting, as it was placed in the very corner of the east wing. Out of there, the beautiful, breathtaking view stretched out from there. The transparent, navy surface of the nearby lake could be seen with all its glory. The water was clear that one could see its own reflection on the surface. The manor was located at one of the many slopes of Mount Hyjal. There was no physical path leading to it. The boarders of this seemingly unreachable corner were delimited by tiny hills that surrounded the estate. Yes, Illidan chose this depression of the landscape himself. The skies were almost entirely covered by the enormously large tree branches that the Outland's ex-master planted. If one did not know where the manor was located, the chances to find it were slim at best. Stormrage made sure that there were only two ways to access his hideout. One of them was the portal that only he could cast, the second one being the flight on top of the winged mount. Still, the second option was only available if one known the location beforehand.
Before the cooking preparations were dealt with, his clone returned with a beautiful tree. Illidan did not need to be present in the living room to witness its arrival. Everything that his creation had done since its summoning was registered, deep inside the mage's mind. Outland's ex-master allowed himself to smile. One more bullet point could be crossed out.
To an utter surprise of possibly many people, the demon hunter loved cooking. To some extent, it could be compared to brewing potions, inventing new spells. You got ingredients, a formula, and after that, it was just a matter of one's invention, passion. It took little time for the raven-haired man to deal with the sides. After all, Christmas's supper would not be the same without sides, would it not? The huge table located in the centre of the room was used to store everything prepared and ready. The mashed potatoes were put under the spell, not letting it to cool down. After all, who would like to eat the cold potatoes? The vegetables were split into 3 separate bowls. The first one contained raw, juicy veggies. The second one had them steamed while the 3rd one was filled with fried counterparts. Just a moment later another bowl was placed on the table. This one was filled with freshly made red cabbage salad. The smell of the fresh red onions quickly spread out all over the room. A few pinches of various spices were thrown into a salad, and voila, it was fully prepared.
Illidan decided that it would be an awful mistake not to prepare more than one variant of meat. To the traditional turkey, the chicken and the entire pig joined. The stuffed turkey had been already put into the oven. There was more than enough time for it to roast without the magical intervention. The super lean chicken was previously sliced into thin fillets. Currently, they were cooling in the fridge, soaking with the herbal marinade. The pig was in the spotlights right now. Illidan made sure to cover the big piece of meat with as many thin cuts as it was humanly possible. The mixture of herbs, salt, and olive oil was rubbed in when the door's bell rung. The surprised demon hunter did not know what was going on for a couple of moments. Still, he halted his current occupation. The chunk of meat was put under the freezing spell. As soon as the mage was sure that his working place was protected by the magic, he left the kitchen, heading toward the manor's entrance. His soaked with the marinade hands were cleaned with just a snap of a finger. Still, the man was surprised. It was too early for his family to show up. The manor's employees were given a free day, more than that, he offered them an additional payment and not-so-modest gifts for their families.
"Who can it be?" he thought while quickly approaching the doors.
Of course, he could use some magic to answer this question. Pfff, he would not have to leave the kitchen to so. However, he felt as if it would be inappropriate from him. A strong smell of the expensive perfumes and fine leather hit his nostrils even before reaching the entrance. There was a hint of something else, something that he could not quite grasp currently. With a slight shake of his head, he opted to just open the doors and deal with whoever showed up. While opening the entrance, he finally realised what he had sniffed before. It was sulphur. One, just one glance at the visitor allowed Illidan to consider that fact fitting. Before his doors, the leaders of the dragon flights, the two previous Dragon Aspects stood. Even though Outland's previous master got surprised, he did not show it at all.
"Ysera, Alextrasza, I am glad to see you," the raven-haired man greeted the arrived. "However, I am not entirely sure what was the reason behind your arrival," he added.
"Pardon us for this unexpected visit, Illidan," Alextrasza started. "We're seeking refuge for Christmas. Would you be kind enough to let us spend holidays with you and your family?" she asked.
"I sense that there is more to that matter than you decided to tell me," the dark-haired man said, smiling slightly. "However, I think we have more than enough place for you. Come inside, be our guests," he added, inviting the women inside.
The women had crossed the threshold of the house, closing the doors behind them. Both dragonesses were in their elven forms. It would be an utter lie if someone said that they were unattractive. The powerful magical aura was radiating from each of them. Even if Illidan was still blind, they would be shining even brighter due to his demon sight. The Life-Binder wore the fluffy snowy-white coat that reached her ankles. Under it, the long blood-red elegant dress could be spotted. The feminine clothing was matching her hair perfectly. Her sister – Ysera – wore a far shorter coat of the dark as night colour. The fitting dress in a mixture of grey and green was easily visible. In comparison to Alextrasza, the mother of the green flight had her outer clothing undone.
"We ran away from the mass that our flights had become," Ysera sighed. "I assume you're aware of the relationship involving Alextrasza and me?" the mother of the green flight asked.
"But, of course, Dreamer," the golden-eyed male replied, fixing his sight onto Ysera. "Your families consider you two to love each other sisterly. However, it is not true. After you died, Alextrasza was faced with a difficult realisation. She considered you more than a sister for quite some time, but never found the courage to show it. When she heard that your spirit was reborn in the Shadowlands, she began to seek the method to have you by her side, once again. After all, one of my daughters was a member of the party that rescued you. After some time, she came to me, asking for a favour. She asked me to lend a fraction of my power to recreate your body, and rip your soul out of the Ardenweald. Long story short, my magic made it possible for you to return, to return to your all-time lover," Illidan told a tale.
"It was you? It was always you?" the green-haired dragon asked, her lips slightly twitching. "I thought that the heroes combined their powers to reunite me with my beloved," she added, whispering.
"No, they are powerful. Indeed, they are. However, they would not be able to achieve that alone," the mage replied.
"Thinking about for a moment, it makes sense," Ysera responded, shaking her head a little. "I felt the power which brought me back. The power so raw, but at the same time so contaminated. It's just ridiculous that I haven't thought about you earlier," she added with a silent scoff. "I owe you everything, I owe you my life," the mother of the green flight whispered.
"I do not need anything in return. I am happy that I was able to help my daughter. After all, I am not exactly the father figure my children would want me to be," the man uttered in his deep, rich voice. "For most of their lives, I have not been there for them. I would love to repay them for that. I am willing to do anything to repay them for that," the demon hunter added.
"Maybe… maybe, it's not the wisest choice for us to interrupt your first holidays with the family," the mother of the red flight said after a moment of silence.
"No, no, no," Illidan replied instantly. "We will be more than happy to have you here. My daughters speak highly of you two. I am more than sure that they would want you to be here with us, so please, stay."
"The pleasure is on our side," Ysera said with a small smile. "I have an idea in mind," she uttered nearly instantly. "We'll return in less than an hour, of course, if the invitation will be still on."
"Feel free to come whenever you want," the Outland's previous master said. "Truth be told, I still have at least a couple of things to prepare before my family arrives," he added.
"We'll bring our share," the green-haired woman assured momentarily. "It's only fair if you're the part of preparations. As I said, we'll be back in less than an hour."
"Fine, but do not feel pressured to buy food or gifts. There are a lot of these here currently," Illidan replied with a small smirk.
"Understood," Ysera responded. "Beloved, come, we have a couple of things to deal with, as well," the woman referred to the redhead standing at her right.
Before a couple of seconds could pass, the ex dragon aspects left the manor. Illidan allowed himself to linger aimlessly for at least a few moments before returning to his chores. The clone was summoned once again. After all, there was another task for it to fulfil. The faint thought about the gifts for the dragonesses was transferred toward the illusion. When it vanished with a quiet clicking sound, the demon hunter began his journey back to the kitchen. As he reminded himself for the countless time that day, there was much to do, but the time seemed to be of the essence.
In a span of mere moments, he reached his destination. A small smile appeared on his handsome face when he made sure everything was just like he had left it. Soon, it faded away, replaced with a grimace of upset. He was fighting against the time, and yet, with all his skills, it seemed that he was steadily losing. If one knew Illidan, knew him well, there was no point in denying that the demon hunter was a bad loser, really bad. After all, he got used to succeeding, at least partially.
A heavy sigh escaped his throat a moment later. There was no point in delving into the matter now. If he continued, he would not be able to prepare everything on time. The man allowed himself to shake his head for a few moments that seemed to last shorter than a fraction of a second. As soon as it was done, he returned to his chores.
He worked tirelessly for at least another 45 minutes. The dark-haired man was fully focused on preparation. To the extent that everything around him seemed to become so distant, so meaningless. The first victim of that particular perfectionism's habit was, of course, the sense of time. If someone asked him currently what time was it, he would not be able to reply. Initially, he planned to use the clone only to retrieve the tree. However, other tasks needed to be assigned to the fading spirit, as the time came by. The Christmas tree needed to be decorated, the presents wrapped, the living room cleaned and prepared before the family would arrive. He would much rather do it himself, but the time was running out too quickly for him to be able to deal with everything alone. So, with a bit of regret, he opted to use his magical skill to his advantage.
Throughout his broad back, the pain was running. The better part of 2 past hours Illidan spent slightly while cooking. It was so laughable that the demon hunter could fight for seemingly endless time, but just mere two hours of cooking were able to spend him. Outland's previous master allowed himself to laugh. After all, he was currently alone in the vast manor. Nobody would be able to hear him. He froze when the bell tolled once again. The dark-haired man straightened his back, beginning his journey toward the entrance.
